Operating a vehicle, such as a larger passenger vehicle, entails particular difficulties and risks to the safety of the vehicle and the passengers boarding and disembarking from the vehicle. School buses post particular challenges because society has set high standards for protecting children. Federal regulations and the regulations of other countries require that school buses meet safety requirements. Regulation FMVSS 111 for school buses requires that a driver sitting in the driver's seat see clearly 16 cylindrical drums placed at various key spots around the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 1. Drums 51a-51n and 51p, according to the regulations, are typically one foot diameter by one foot tall cylindrical drums, while drum 51q is a cylindrical drum that is one foot diameter by three feet tall. The regulations require that the driver must clearly see each of these drums. Conventionally, mirrors are attached to various parts of the exterior of the vehicle to enhance the driver's view.
Mirrors, however, present their own challenges. First, a mirror and the arm or arms on which it is mounted protrudes away from the vehicle. Mirrors thus can be impact targets when the vehicle is in motion or is stationary. Also, the mirrors and the assemblies on which they are mounted may introduce drag and may thus decrease fuel economy.
Also, mirrors do not provide a unified view inside the cabin for the driver. For example, if a conventional cross-view mirror is attached to the right side of the vehicle at the front and a second mirror is attached on the left side of the vehicle at the front, then in order to check that the vehicle has clearance on both sides and that no passerby are in harm's way on both sides, the driver must look in opposite directions, to the right and then to the left, then ahead before proceeding, or perhaps even repeat this process. Also, the driver must look outside of the cabin to view the mirrors positioned on the exterior of the vehicle, which necessitates looking through the side windows or a windshield, which may be dirty or wet or covered with snow or the like.
Further, different drivers will require mirrors set at different settings, or heights, depending on the driver's height and head position with respect to the driver's cabin. Therefore, each driver will need to adjust or re-adjust the external minors according to his or her body type or driving posture.
In addition, the mirrors will be typically quite dark in the early morning hours or in the evening hours. Also, the driver's eyes will have to adjust to the different lighting conditions as the outside lighting changes throughout the day. Further, the driver may have to contend simultaneously with different lighting conditions, since the field of view of one of the external mirrors may be well lit at any particular time while the field of view of another mirror may be poorly lit or not lit at all. One or more of the foregoing issues, and other related issues, are addressed by aspects of a system according to the present invention.
Camera systems have been used in the interiors of school buses. As an example, the present assignee describes an interior camera and a protective closure therefor in its U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,625. The present disclosure focuses, however, on an exterior camera system layout and driver controls which affords a view substantially 360° around the school bus. The camera configuration of the present disclosure provides an arrangement of individual cameras, different from anything that would be typically provided on any other type of vehicle.